Report on Cultural Awareness and Cultural Safety in Australia

This report delves into the concepts of cultural awareness and cultural safety, emphasizing their significance within the Australian context, particularly concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It defines cultural awareness as recognizing and respecting diverse cultural identities, while cultural safety ensures an environment free from cultural-based challenges. The report explores historical injustices, including the dispossession and mistreatment of Indigenous Australians, and examines the impact of these events on their cultural identity and well-being. It highlights the importance of understanding Aboriginal family structures, kinship systems, and worldviews. The report outlines strategies for creating culturally safe workplaces, including using indigenous narratives, fostering cultural empathy, and implementing codes of conduct. It also examines the role of educational frameworks and government acts in promoting cultural awareness and safety. Furthermore, it provides practical examples and identifies potential pitfalls in cross-cultural interactions, emphasizing the need for continuous learning and positive change to address historical and ongoing challenges. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of incorporating and embracing Aboriginal culture in all activities to build a truly culturally safe environment.

Running head: CULTURAL AWARENESS AND CULTURAL SAFETY
Cultural Awareness and Cultural Safety
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CULTURAL AWARENESS AND CULTURAL SAFETY
Task1.
1. Cultural awareness is the process of recognizing and accepting other peoples’ cultural
identities. Cultural awareness makes people respect the cultural diversity and people with
different cultural tradition, beliefs and values (Pokhilko, 2016). This enables someone to
experience other culture from the perspective of other. In the globalized era, cultural
awareness helps to connect with each other and develop a free and open environment by
overcoming cultural challenges.
2. Cultural safety ensures the safety of the people of certain environment where they do not
experience any challenges, conflicts or assault because of their cultural identity. Cultural
safety becomes real when the meaning, knowledge, experience and learning is shared
with dignity among individuals within the community (Humanrights.gov.au, 2017).
Cultural safety acts beyond the cultural awareness channelizing the negative changes
towards positivity.
3. The aboriginals inhabited Australia for thousands of years before the colonists inhabited
the land. During his voyage James Cooks declared the land as Terra Nullius or “no one’s
land” in the eighteenth century (Hudec, 2013). The history war related to real causes is
still going on; however few reasons can be considered. Firstly some believe that the
existence of the aboriginals were unknown to them at that time. Secondly some believe
the claim was deliberate. The land of uncivilized people of primitive society was included
in the term they used to claim the land which was “desert and uncultivated”.
4. The aboriginal identity was lost because of many initiatives taken up by the settlers of
that period. One of them is dispossession. After the initial establishment, the colonial
government started to sell and lease the land to other settlers (Price, 2015). . The mass

CULTURAL AWARENESS AND CULTURAL SAFETY
killing was initiated by the colonists over the rights of the lands and forced the
aboriginals to leave their lands. The cultural misunderstandings resulted in violent
conflicts between the settlers and the aboriginals. The colonists’ firepower made the
aboriginals lose most of the fights.
5. The families of Australian aboriginals are extended and not nuclear like modern day
families. Family and kinship are the key drivers that bind the aboriginals together
(Malinowski, 2015). There are several clans consisting father, mother, uncle, brother,
sister, aunt and other cousins. The clan’s wellbeing is supported by the psychological and
emotional support of the members. The kinship holds the responsibilities that the clan
member follows.
6. Because millions of the aboriginal people were killed and lost their identities the
surviving members often feel lonely and low self esteem. They lost their identity and
became the labors or servants, so they got poor education which affected their future
generation (Bell, 2014). They also face legal problems, related to official documentations
to prove their identity. They struggle to trust anyone easily and their search for own
identity is still going on.
7.
1 Protocol Respecting the engagement’s cultural form is important.
Generalisation of communities and place is a serious breach of
tradition for the aboriginals, so the workers have to be careful
while dealing with those. The aboriginal women also have their
own protocols related to the well being of their families and
children.
2 Personal Knowledge The sense of trust and equity must be developed through sharing
information and understanding their culture (Wilson et al.,
2016). The world view that the aboriginals hold is based on the
relationship among tribes, family and community. The personal

CULTURAL AWARENESS AND CULTURAL SAFETY
knowledge of place and space is layered.
3 Partnership Partnership can be informal or formal. Through partnership they
develop sustainable relationship. They work together to ensure
the well being of their children and family.
4 Process The process would give importance to ensuring cultural safety
based on mutual learning. The process should be focused on the
well being of the islanders. For a long period of time the process
should continue, which consists achieving their life potential,
working in partnership, ensuring their recruitment, development
and achieving cultural competence.
5 Positive changes The development should be ongoing and ensure positive
changes. The local issues should be identified and positive
changes must be enforced through various national policy
guidelines (Brown et al., 2015).
8. As the workers and the aboriginals have had different life experiences, misunderstandings
may occur. The world has been experiencing many international conflicts among
different communities; this might bring forward the enmities among the aboriginals while
working with the workers. Workers often lack the cultural sensitivity and cross-cultural
experience may affect the aboriginals (Herring et al., 2013). This might happen due to the
misinterpretation and misunderstanding of what the aboriginals express.
9. 3 work practices that you feel reflect a culturally safe work environment for Aboriginal
and/or Torres Strait Islander people:
1. Using indigenous narratives to communicate
2. Cultural empathy should be created
3. Code of conducts for the service professionals that can resolve problems and reach
conciliation.
10. “The early years learning Framework’ (EYLF) is developed to improve the children’s
education (Littlefield et al., 2017). The local context is used while engaging the

CULTURAL AWARENESS AND CULTURAL SAFETY
aboriginal children for teaching. The process is reciprocal and respectful. The “My time
your place” framework ensures that the environment the mentors build is supported, safe
and secure. The school age children develop their inter dependence, resilience and
autonomy. They students respond to social, cultural responsibilities and grow respect
towards diversity. The children develop responsibility for their physical and emotional
well being. Through creativity, confidence, commitment, problem solving and effective
communication they become and involved and confident learner.
11. There are few signs that tell the individual islander that the environment is culturally safe,
like the communication between the service professional and him. The policies, planning
and activities encourage the individual aboriginal voice to participate. He is also
encouraged to actively participate in the decision making. When he sees the professionals
are recognizing his past and show respect to it. The negative impacts caused by the past
government are being addressed by them. Such activities like the Sorry Day or NAIDOC
week are being celebrated for promoting the aboriginal culture (Meekosha, Wannan &
Shuttleworth, 2016). The most effective sign is the organization’s incorporating and
embracing of aboriginal culture in every activity.
12. The failure to build up a culturally safe workplace can have severe consequences. The
aboriginal might feel racism towards him. They might feel unsafe I the working
environment. Their pride for being and indigenous people might get affected by the
cultural unsafe workplace. Their lack of confidence will lead to the anger and depression
which might build a sense of revenge because they might feel that the age old
suppression is getting repeated.

CULTURAL AWARENESS AND CULTURAL SAFETY
13. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander: The aboriginals are the original inhabitants of the
land of Australia. The outsider colonists came to the land and took away their properties
and basic human rights. They have their own culturally rich and distinct identity bearing
thousand of years’ history of our country.
Kinship/skin system: this basically represents the family structure and relationship of the
aboriginals. In the clan or community the members engage in distinct responsibilities,
roles and ceremonies based on this complex kinship system.
Stolen generation: The federal governments of the Country took away generations of
children from the families of the aboriginals.
Dreamtime: This is the unique way that the aboriginal perceive the world. The dreamtime
makes them believe that their ancestral spirits built everything on the earth.
14. There are multiple laws that that the European settlers used to control the aboriginals.
The laws are ‘Aboriginals Fire Arm Regulation Act 1840’, ‘Aboriginal Protection Act
1869’, ‘Aboriginal Protection Act 1869’ and ‘Half-Caste Act 1886’ (Watson, 2014).
15. Culture bias is the practice of perceiving one’s culture by someone’s own cultural sense.
This heavily focuses on assumption which might lead to wrong perception of other’s
culture.
Task2.
1. Several strategies can be adapted by the service professional or the organization in order
to build a culturally appropriate work place. The professionals must be engaged in the
activities with an open mind. They must gain some knowledge prior to the engagement
about their cultural background. The verbal communication must be understood by other

CULTURAL AWARENESS AND CULTURAL SAFETY
effectively but they must be careful about their non verbal communication. The diverse
cultural people must be treated with a personal care.
2. A) The verbal and nonverbal communication is understood by the children.
B) They might feel lack of confidant by the attitude or lifestyle of the educator.
C) Lack of reflection of the culturally aware narratives
D) Not engaging in various cultures specific celebrations.
3. The laws like “Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986”, “Racial Discrimination Act
1975”, “Equal Opportunity Act 2010” and “Fair Work Act 2009” works against the
discrimination based on race, knowledge, color, religion and job opportunities(Capuano, 2016).
4) The code of conduct will help the professionals to engage and develop in a culturally open
and accepting environment where the culturally diverse children can build up their confidence,
knowledge and identity. The code of conduct will make the professionals to fulfill their
responsibilities towards the needy and provides an opportunity to improve the damages that our
ancestors caused.
5. The family system is being overlooked by Ann, as to deal with Melanie she only invited her
mother and aunts and cousins were asked to wait outside. In the aboriginal family system
everyone feels equally important and work together to resolve any problem within the family.
6. Ann should have explained her about the paramedics before she encountered them. Other
strategies would be making her visit the hospital and explain their work in a way that she would
be able to connect.

CULTURAL AWARENESS AND CULTURAL SAFETY
7. She got introduced to the paramedics at her grandfather’s death. Visiting the paramedics
should have been a regular practice to keep them healthy. The lack of right knowledge was not
shared to her at the right moment that created her fear.
8. A core code in the ECA states that the partnerships with communities and families
share responsibility to deal with children’s well being, learning and development. Ann
could have managed the situation more effectively with the help of this statement.

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